{"id":4278,"date":"2026-04-25T06:17:29","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T06:17:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/genedrivenetwork.org\/?p=4278"},"modified":"2026-04-25T06:31:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T06:31:48","slug":"fighting-malaria-with-science-inside-target-malarias-work-in-uganda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/genedrivenetwork.org\/es\/blog\/fighting-malaria-with-science-inside-target-malarias-work-in-uganda\/","title":{"rendered":"Fighting malaria with science: Inside Target Malaria’s work in Uganda"},"content":{"rendered":"

Malaria remains a major public health issue in Uganda, with over 90% of the population at risk. The latest data from the World Health Organization\u2019s World Malaria Report <\/a>revealed that Uganda’s malaria burden increased to over 13 million cases in 2024, an increase of more than 600,000 cases from the previous year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Target Malaria Uganda team member conducting mosquito larvae collections. Photograph: Target Malaria<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malaria is very hard to eliminate. Following years of progress against the disease, challenges such as rising resistance to available interventions, funding cuts, and shifting disease transmission patterns brought on by climate change, are increasingly complicating malaria control efforts and threatening to reverse hard-won gains across the African region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Target Malaria<\/a>, we are working to develop an innovative technology to reduce the population of malaria-transmitting mosquitoes in sub-Saharan Africa. By reducing the population of malaria mosquitoes, we aim to reduce the transmission of the disease. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advancing malaria control research at the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI)<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our team in Uganda is based at the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI<\/a>), in Entebbe, and led by Principal Investigator Dr. Jonathan Kayondo. We are a multidisciplinary group of qualified insectary staff, scientists, and engagement and communication experts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our activities in Uganda began in 2012 under the Department of Entomology and Vector Biology. Since then, part of our work here has focused on entomological mosquito collections from mainland sites and field sites on islands on Lake Victoria. The collections are done in collaboration with local communities who live in these sites. Once collected, the mosquitoes are analysed in our laboratory. This work allows us to better understand the characteristics of local malaria mosquitoes and generate data that informs the project\u2019s research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mosquito sample being added into a collection cup<\/em><\/em>. Photograph: Target Malaria<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In July 2019, we inaugurated a new ACL-2 (Arthropod Containment Level 2) insectary. The facility \u2013 which meets international guidelines and national regulations for the containment of insects \u2013 enables us to safely rear, maintain, and study mosquito populations under controlled conditions, to better understand their biology and behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Current work in the insectary involves conducting studies in containment on a strain of non gene drive genetically modified male bias mosquitoes. These mosquitoes have been genetically modified to produce mainly male offspring. Work on the male bias mosquitoes is an intermediary step in Target Malaria\u2019s stepwise approach to develop a new tool to fight malaria. It supports our objectives to strengthen our team\u2019s capacity in Uganda to rear and study genetically modified mosquitoes, advance preparations for future research phases, and continue engaging regulators and stakeholders on our regulatory pathway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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